There are going to be many times during your golf play when a shot doesn’t quite go to plan. It could be a slice, hook, misjudgement of distance or anything which takes the ball away from your intended line.
Some of the time you will get lucky and the ball will land in a nice area of the course and you will be able to play your next shot without any trouble at all. Unfortunately, there will be other times when the ball finishes in a less than desirable position.
Trees are found on a lot of golf courses and all it takes is for one unlucky bounce and your ball can finish close to one. If it does, you could be left with one of several potential scenarios but today we are dealing with the limited follow through.
You will be left with a limited follow through if the tree is in-front of the ball, in the direction you need to play your shot.
Now, you may have the option to hit the ball out sideways or behind you and carry on from there. This is an easy way to remove the blocked follow through from the shot and continue your round without much hassle.
However, if you are playing in a tournament you may want to play the shot forwards but your club will hit the tree on the follow through.
Some golfers will try and play a standard shot and attempt to stop the club before it hits the trunk. The problem with this, is you will never fully commit to the shot for fear of you club hitting the tree and you will stop your swing too soon. This will see your club contacting the ground too early before the ball.
Instead, try setting up your stance with your feet tight together and with your feet and leading shoulder pointing to the right (for right handed players) or the left (for left handed players).
With your front hip very close to the tree trunk, close the face of the club so it is pointing directly at the target. Move your hands slightly further up the grip of the club and when you play the shot, you will have more time on the follow through before the tree comes into play.
With the confidence of knowing your club is not going to hit the tree until over half way through your follow through, you can commit to the shot.
Keep in mind that because you have closed the club face, the ball will fly lower and roll further, so take this into account when planning shot. Also, be aware your club will still hit the tree if you complete the follow through and you need to make a judgement on when to stop.
However, setting up in this way when your follow through is hampered by a tree will help you play a better, more committed shot.
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